China's State Council hosted an on-the-spot work conference on
environmental protection for the Bohai Sea, a territorial sea in
north China, on August 4.
On the day, Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan visited offshore rigs, aquatic
farms, and waste-disposal zones, and heard reports on the issue by
central and local government departments concerned and company
leaders.
At the meeting, the vice premier stressed the importance of
protecting and controlling pollution in Bohai and called for
severely controlling the annual quantity of pollutants discharged
into the sea area.
The polluted area in the Bohai Sea has been increasing due to
the fast development of the coastal area, though the government has
made enormous efforts to protect the environment in the sea area,
said Zeng, who is also member of the Political Bureau of the
Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.
He announced that the government will shut down a number of
severely pollutive projects and punish a number of violators, to
ensure that by 2010, not less than 85 percent of the sewage and 80
percent of wastes will be handled.
He urged offshore oil producers, shipping companies and ports in
the area to prevent leakage of oil and disposal of wastes into the
sea. All aquatic farms and coastal engineering projects should
adopt environmental protection measures, he said.
China will set up nature reserves and a biological monitoring
network in the Bohai Sea area and make greater efforts to monitor
maritime environment in the area. He urged local governments and
companies concerned to join hands in protecting environment in the
area.
(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2006)